UNION CITY, Calif., May 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Abaxis, Inc. (NasdaqGS: ABAX), a medical products company manufacturing point-of-care blood analysis systems, announced today that it was awarded $650,000 from the Kansas Bioscience Authority to help set up the first laboratory testing facility for veterinarians nationwide in Olathe, Kansas. The authority's board of directors on May 9, 2011 approved the three-year grant during meetings in Wichita, Kansas.

In January 2011, Abaxis formed a strategic alliance with Kansas State University, K-State Veterinary Diagnostic Lab and the National Institute for Strategic Technology Acquisition and Commercialization (NISTAC), the commercial arm of K-State, to provide a full-service commercial laboratory for veterinarians across the United States.

Clint Severson, chairman and chief executive officer of Abaxis, commented, "We are pleased with this award from the Kansas Bioscience Authority. In conjunction with Kansas State University we are in development of a laboratory facility that will set the standard for accuracy, timeliness and customer support for the veterinary community nationwide. We believe this project will be mutually beneficial to the University as a leading academic institution and to Abaxis as a leading veterinary laboratory solutions provider."

About Abaxis

Abaxis develops, manufactures and markets portable blood analysis systems for use in any veterinary or human patient-care setting to provide clinicians with rapid blood constituent measurements. The system consists of a compact, 5.1 kilogram (11.2 pounds), portable analyzer and a series of single-use plastic discs, called reagent discs that contain all the chemicals required to perform a panel of up to 13 tests on veterinary patients and 14 tests on human patients. The system can be operated with minimal training and performs multiple routine tests on whole blood, serum or plasma samples. The system provides test results in less than 12 minutes with the precision and accuracy equivalent to a clinical laboratory analyzer. Abaxis is in the final stages of building a full-service laboratory testing facility for veterinarians, focusing on specialty and esoteric testing and analysis. This state-of-the-art commercial laboratory will be the hub of the Abaxis Veterinary Reference Laboratory (AVRL).